Pickup height for Roswell JM pickups

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Ralph124C41
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Pickup height for Roswell JM pickups

Post by Ralph124C41 » Fri Nov 18, 2022 8:44 am

Yes I know this has been asked before but maybe not for this pickup.

Today I received my Harley Benton JA-60 Jazzmaster clone. It has Roswell JM Alnico 5 pickups.. Can somebody give me a suggested pickup height? I know it's a matter of taste however. As for me I like the combined neck and bridge setting and sometimes the bridge. I rarely use the bridge pickup but I would like to have three distinct sounds.

Resistance for these pickups I think are 6.6 K neck and 11.7K bridge.

Thanks.

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Debaser
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Re: Pickup height for Roswell JM pickups

Post by Debaser » Thu Nov 24, 2022 5:53 am

I’m gonna have to default back to the advice you already mentioned: use your own ears, hands, and amps/effects to dial it in. For JMs, I dial in the bridge sound I want first, then try to level match the neck (usually lowering it). The middle sound is just whatever I get after that.

I use the middle position quite a bit, and if I were to make that the priority, and bridge is kinda sorta never, then. I’d actually dial in the neck first, then bring the bridge pickup to the sweet spot, while playing in the middle position. Hope that helps.
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Ralph124C41
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Re: Pickup height for Roswell JM pickups

Post by Ralph124C41 » Thu Nov 24, 2022 5:58 am

I tried adjusting the neck pickup and it didn't seem to want to move. So either I'm going to leave it as is ... because it seems acceptable and I do get three distinct sound levels ... or take it to a guitar tech I know who generally helps me and gives me a fair deal.

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Re: Pickup height for Roswell JM pickups

Post by Debaser » Sat Nov 26, 2022 7:59 pm

Well you could pay someone to do it for you, or you can completely remove the screws during a string change and see what's going on underneath. It's likely held up on the route cavity. Also a good idea: push down on any JM pickup before adjusting the screws in a major way. If you can push it down with finger pressure it's a good sign.
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jvin248
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Re: Pickup height for Roswell JM pickups

Post by jvin248 » Sun Nov 27, 2022 7:45 am

.

I'll start pickup adjusting by putting the pickups flush to the pickguard/trim ring. JMs and basses are a little more complicated with the foam and potential for cracking the covers though, so be careful.

Then I raise the pickup over a couple of days. Because ear fatigue sets in during a session where it sounds fantastic the next day.

Tip bass/treble to fix any issues with muddiness/brightness too.

.

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Re: Pickup height for Roswell JM pickups

Post by adamrobertt » Thu Dec 01, 2022 5:38 pm

I wouldn't recommend bottoming out pickups that only use foam (no springs) for height adjustment. You are very likely to wind up compressing the foam to a degree where you won't really be able to raise the pickups very much or very easily.

Generally, in my opinion, you should have the pickups as close to the strings as possible without any negative effects. Lower them just enough so that you don't get any weird farty sounds, or microphonics, or thumping noises. I find that 2/16" or 3/32" or so on the bridge pickup is a good starting point. Then lower from there if you need to, to get the sound that you want. Then lower the neck pickup until the volumes match.

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